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Caught on camera: Tempe road rage suspect accused of pointing gun, hitting victim after crash
A road rage dispute in Tempe escalated when a man pulled a handgun and struck a driver in the head. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen breaks down the violent incident.
TEMPE, Ariz. - A dangerous road rage situation quickly escalated in Tempe when a man not involved in a crash got out of a vehicle and pointed a gun at a victim, an incident that was caught on camera.
What Happened:
Video shows a man, who police identify as Johnny Ferguson III, get out of a car, point a black handgun he got from his car at the victim, and then hit him in the head.
Timeline:
Tempe police say in the viewer video taken on July 1, Ferguson can be seen assaulting the man. The victim had just been involved in a rear-end crash with a woman near Mill and Southern avenues.
According to court documents, Ferguson told police the woman was his sister and that he wanted to defend her. He also claimed the male victim was mad and reaching for what he thought was a gun.
Tracking The Suspect:
Investigating officers relied heavily on visual evidence from the scene to track down the suspect.
"In this case, we were pretty fortunate that we had witness video and video from surrounding businesses in that we were able to obtain information," Edwards said.
Dig deeper:
Police say Ferguson not only pointed a gun at the man, but he also hit the man in the head with the weapon. The victim then drove across the street to Circle K. He went inside and grabbed a wet floor sign to protect himself from Ferguson, who was waiting outside.
"Safety was his priority, so that's why he tried to disengage and run into an area where there were more people and where he could be just surrounded enough so that he could get time to call the police," Edwards said.
According to police, Ferguson told the victim to fight him but eventually took off.
In Court:
After his arrest days later, he admitted to police that he took the incident too far.
"In this case, you do have a secured appearance bond in the amount of $75,000," the court stated during his initial appearance. "In the event you were to post that bond and be released, you would be released to the supervision of pre-trial services."
What's next:
Ferguson is facing a felony aggravated assault charge with a deadly weapon. He is due back in court on July 15.
Map of the area the incident occurred.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from a viewer video, Tempe Police Violent Crime Squad Detective Marcus Edwards, court documents, and court statements from an initial appearance.